The present invention relates to an automatic method and system for embossing characters on a card such as a plastic card. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a method and system which reduces the time required for such embossing of characters.
Automated embossing systems are widely used for embossing characters on media such as plastic. Typical applications of such embossing systems are the creation of credit cards, identification cards, membership cards, etc. Examples of embossing system patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,820,455; 4,088,216; and No. Re. 27,809.
In large embossing systems where large quantities of cards are being embossed, any reduction of time required to emboss each card can result in substantial cost reduction and increased card production. One area where time savings can be realized is the operation and movement of the embossing wheel relative to the card where the characters are embossed. In some embossing systems, characters are consecutively embossed as they appear on a given line of embossing. In yet other systems, like characters are consecutively embossed; i.e., all the A's, B's, C's, etc. The present invention provides an embossing system and method which provides increased performance over the above described embossing systems.